Back in the Groove

Andy has been back in school for a week and a half and we are starting to get back in the groove. It's hard sometimes to be home all day with kids and housework that never seems to get done. But that's my life. I'm trying to get into some habits that make it easier but they are coming slow. I try and add one thing every week that makes the routine a little less mundane and keeps the TV off just a little longer.

That's my real battle. I crave the sound of grown-ups talking and I watch TV on www.hulu.com or Netflix or something just to make my life a little less "baby." But there is nothing that I really want the girls to see so I end up with the computer on my lap and the headphones in and then... I'm totally cut off from them. They are totally on their own for entertainment and learning. I try and sit down and read to them every day. I try and go over colors and letters and numbers and play at least a little but I get so tired of it all so fast. I feel like I'm the one with the short attention span. I hate to admit it but I'm really not that great at the stay at home mom thing.

So, I will continue to try and add a few things to the routine that keep the TV off and the kids more entertained and maybe I will be a better mom.

What do you do every day that makes your routine better and keeps you sane?

All Veggied Out

This family has been sick in one way or another for a month now. It's hard to be sick with little kids because they depend on you for everything. You can't tell your toddler to go get themselves something to eat. You can't expect them to do a whole lot of entertaining themselves. If you are sick, they are watching TV so you can rest. If they are sick, there is more TV while they rest. When your husband is sick, you are wiped out from taking care of everything and everyone and there is more TV to pacify them and hope that their brain isn't mush.

Everyday for a month now, Abby has gotten up and been parked in front of the TV for Veggietales. This morning, everyone is well! Can you believe it? I can't...

She comes into my room this morning at 6 and I think, 'I'm not going to be well after this. How is it possible that the baby stays up until midnight and then the 2 year old gets up a 6?!'

I hear her little sing-song voice, "Mommy, I ready to watch Beytales. (She still doesn't say veggie...)" That's when I knew I was in trouble. This is what she thinks her life is about. Veggietales. Clifford. Thomas the Train. When did these characters become a part of our lives? When we were sleeping, that's when.

Time for the intervention. I'm cutting her off. It's going to be a long hard road to recovery with her. We are going to have to deal with the withdraw and the screaming that goes with it but hopefully, after all that is through, she will know there is more to life than vegetables.